By: Laura Buol
School is out and summer is upon us. If you are like many families, the wear and tear of the school year may have taken its toll on you. Spring is often thought of as time of new beginnings, but for families with children, summer may have imaginings of big plans for setting things right or dread of “what will you do with your children now that they have all this free time?” Either way, the end of the school year and the start of summer is a great time to start one new healthy habit.
Ananda Kids is refreshingly easy app to introduce meditation to your young children. The topics range from how to love your body, being open to things, making good choices and being thankful. The music is soothing and the meditation is only 10 minutes long- so it may not be too much for young ones. The choices are seemingly endless as you can mix and match topics and music effortlessly. Each subject begins with some helpful tips on how to stay positive without ignoring the fact that children have valid feelings- a really nice touch. There are some free tracks, but the whole package costs $29.99. You can find Ananda Kids on the Apptore through Apple. Overall, the Ananda Kids is a very pleasurable and easy way to introduce meditation to your children. Best of all, you can easily do it with them. Why? There is something for you to learn from each session too.
Don’t underestimate the positive effect meditation can bring into your life. Some research has shown through MRI scans that the parts of the brain that controls reasoning, sensory processing, sensory gatekeeping and incoming stimuli, actually slows down. We essentially give our brain a vacation. Think of all the stimuli our children are faced with today. By introducing this habit at such a young age, the potentials may be endless. As for adults, we need a vacation too and this may give us the wiggle room we need to be better parents and people. Best of all, besides feeling good, it is great way to bond and a simple way to improve your life.
Stay tuned for reviews and suggestions on adult mediation applications too. Headspace has a free 10 day trial, is guided and without music. The Oprah and Deepak 21 Mediation Challenge is right around the corner and is always free. Omvana has some free tracks and teaches you how to meditate. Buddify and Omharmonics are gaining in popularity and use binaural tones. You can always go to YouTube for some free mediations too. Let us know how you like to meditate.
Copyright: Generation Mindful LLC